A Team Of Heroes

This week, May 15 to 21, is National Emergency Medical Services Week, and this year’s theme is “EMS: Rising to the Challenge.” It’s a moment to recognize the selfless contributions of so many men and women in our community, and to offer some well-earned thanks and recognition.

It should also be an opportunity for those who are not active members of the EMS community to stop and think about what these men and women are owed — how we all might give back to them.

Because those in the EMS community give plenty. The time and energy devoted to training is extensive, and the call of duty is enormous. Paid or unpaid, emergency medical and ambulance crews save lives every single day, make themselves available for extended periods, drop everything when a call comes in, and stare down the stress that comes with treating victims of medical trauma.

There’s a level of support that absolutely everyone should take part in, no excuses. That includes — and it’s no small thing — getting the heck out of the way when an ambulance is approaching from either direction. It’s a laughably small gesture, but ask an EMS crew how important it is, and how often it doesn’t happen.

Certainly, support your local ambulance company. That means being a member, sending annual donations, turning up for fundraisers. Financial support keeps the ambulances on the road for you and your neighbors.

But for many people, there’s a much more important thing they can do: join. Make the commitment, become part of an EMS crew. Drivers are desperately needed in most departments, and there’s opportunity for someone who discovers a passion for the work to continue on and become an EMT or paramedic, which requires a next-level commitment due to the hundreds of hours of training.

In March, an Express Sessions event focused on the future of local volunteer fire and ambulance companies. Tom Gardella, a Sag Harbor Village Board member and a former fire chief, noted that the question of volunteerism in the community isn’t really one to ask the current volunteers — they’re already in the game.

“The question is really to the community. Are they committed to this?” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much money you make, if you are a man or a woman, or whatever ethnic background you are from. If you are willing to commit to do the job, to volunteer, that’s all that’s needed.”

At the time, there was optimism — East Hampton Fire Chief Gerard Turza Jr. noted, “The spirit of volunteerism is still alive and strong. We see it every day” — but there was no missing the worry. The truth is, the region’s volunteer EMS community is struggling to keep up. And summer is nearly here, bringing a wave of new demand.

It’s National Emergency Medical Services Week, a perfect time for a moment of reflection. Do you have what it takes? Can you be there for a neighbor in need? There’s no better time to become part of a team of true heroes.